Residents concerned with Alamo’s aesthetics are taking things into their own hands. Alamo Improvement Association and Zone 36 members may go around county staff to get three oak trees put back in front of Las Trampas Center, members said this week.
“I’m (going) to Yardbirds, independent of the county, to see if they will offer a tree program in front of the store,” said Mike Gibson of AIA.
He and members of Zone 36 Landscape and Lighting Committee are interested in preserving the small-town character of downtown Alamo. And they are turning to Yardbirds and Home Depot to get on-going tree issues solved.
County Public Works upset Alamo residents in February when the department accidentally OK’d the removal of three oaks that had been dedicated with the Boulevard of Trees project. In April, Supervisor Mary N. Piepho offered to replace the trees at an undefined location in Alamo, after being informed the trees were part of a project to beautify the area.
The Public Works Department and Zone 36 then began looking into spots where dead, diseased or removed trees need to be replaced along Danville Boulevard.
Now members of the community are demanding the new trees be put in where they were taken out.
“Everybody wants them back at Yardbirds,” Alamo resident Lilian Burns said at the last Zone 36 meeting.
“They are much more valuable in that location than (other places) along Danville Boulevard,” Gibson said, adding that Alamo is in need of street trees in its downtown urbanized areas.
“The trees in that location create a sense of space,” he said.
Since landscape and maintenance can affect property values, Alamo residents have been active on issues that affect Alamo’s rural charm.
Problems are popping up with the county, however, for several reasons: The sidewalk would have to be dug up, permission from the property owner is needed, and empty holes in the sidewalk could pose a liability issue.
“It’s something that can be talked about with the development team,” said Eric Whan, Contra Costa County Senior Civil Engineer.
The issue was discussed last week at a meeting with Home Depot, which purchased Yardbirds in late 2005 and will reopen the store in fall 2007.
“Home Depot (was) informed that they can garner great public opinion by putting three trees in,” said Steve Mick of Zone 36.
Home Depot spokesman Tim Seymour said he can’t yet make a statement one way or another on the likelihood that the trees will be planted in that location.
Getting Home Depot to take on the project would be a weight off the shoulders of Zone 36, considering its small budget, said Valerie Schooley, chairwoman of the committee.
At a meeting this spring, Schooley said it looked like something was missing where the trees were taken out. She recently said she would prefer the trees go back in front of Las Trampas Center, so long as funds for the replacement don’t come out of the Zone 36 budget.
The original location would be easer for Zone 36 to water, Burns pointed out at the last Zone 36 meeting. Instead of contracting a watering team, it could be done through the center. Zone 36 will fund watering maintenance for the new trees while the county will pay for the trees themselves and planting labor.
Watering of the Boulevard of Trees is an issue that is also pending. With the recent heat wave, residents said they were concerned that the Public Works Department isn’t on top of watering the Boulevard of Trees.
“It’s a very hot summer and I’m really disappointed that this has fallen through the cracks again,” Burns said.
Watering trouble can be attributed to change of county staff personnel, Whan said. Lisa Carnahan, who recently left the county, was formerly in charge of that aspect of maintenance and the responsibility will now be up to him, he said.
Updates and community input will be given at the next Zone 36 Landscape and Lighting Committee at Hap Magee Ranch Park at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 13.
